ural guy

We stayed in Prague prior to our November sailing, as part of the Vantage pre-cruise package. The hotel asked for a credit card for incidentals, we didn't eat there except the included breakfast, so no charges. The hotel had the orange juice squeezing machine and the rest was pretty great also. Made up for the ship food kinda being meh. Very good news for those who are sailing.

The were sending out 25% discount deals for e-transfers.

Negative, I was just in Berlin on a 5 day 'Orientation Tour'...they would send guys over from the Federal Republic/West Germany to show us the reality of what was 'over there'. I was selected for winning a board (against one other soldier), and the 1SG knew I liked history and had picked up a book. That fact that he was my old Platoon SGT, and he and his family would cat sit for us on Spouse and my many adventures through Europe, I'm sure played a big part, as this is the way of life. I had to look this medal up, it is for people stationed 30 days or more in Berlin when the wall was up. We were the speed bump 30 ish KM's from border. That's why my trip is so fascinating to me, just like Czech last November...all places on the other side, where we could not go. Cool fact: all have turned out to be very nice/neat people,

Shmoo- I think we would have been on that tulip cruise together, boarding 28 March I think? We were flying into Ireland on 20 March, air corridors shut down the 13th and the dark times happened. Very fortunate that we were able to use credits for a Passau-Budapest cruise with them last November. We really enjoyed our 3 cruises with them, I liked the longer stays in ports, and having more nights on board. Taking 14 nights to go from Basel to Amsterdam and take in so much of the Mosell was great, and a trip we wanted to redo. Having said that, you could definitely see cost cutting with the food on board. Keeping their oldest river ship and selling the newer, version 2 model River Voyager with it's improvements, hinted at cash flow issues. I hope that people are still able to get some value for their money, and they somehow figure this out. We had our own stress with low water issues, but these stories are horrific. We got told small lies about boats being able to float on mud (2018 Fall low water, the call agents sticking to their everything is OK script, when anyone with the internet and the ability to type can see that it is not OK...if you can't ship needed supplies/materials/gas through a river system, how can a cruise ship sail?), ya'll got told whoppers.

Thanks all, the boat ride on the Spree, that does look nice. Negative on being there for the wall coming down, we left in October of 1989 and just missed it. Daughters, no worries, we made it a year alone when Mom was in Korea. Ice cream and bad hearing get you through quite a bit. Last overseas trip together:

Back from Portugal last Tuesday, off to Germany in two weeks. Going to try out a new airline out of Newburgh, NY (Stewart, where Norweigan flew out of), this is about an hour? out of the big scary city (my name for NYC). We live 4 hours north of Newburgh, 300 miles from NYC...yet still in NY state. Super easy drive for us. Trip grew from me finding cheap airfare, to a big last minute plan. I'm going with 3 adult daughters, 33/30/24...haven't been overseas with just my girls since Ireland in 2015, so huge for my old self. Oldest didn't get Germany for her next duty station, but San Antonio TX. She now gets 11 nights there. And spouse gets to play grandma with all her quilting buds. 3N Berlin, pick up rental car and head to Saxon Switzwerland on the Czech border for 3N, 1N in Halle, 3N on north edge of Harz Mountains, 1N Potsdam prior to return flight. Wanted to stay in the former East Germany, and the mountain areas are good for the girls to go wander and climb and tucker themselves out. In Bad Schandau, rented a house on Elbe river, with bike trail in front. Girls have been to Germany previously. The middle has been in Berlin before, me too, but I got to visit East Berlin, and take the duty train in from Frankfurt, at night, during another lifetime. I'm thinking it's changed a bit in the past 37 years? I hear they are on the Euro now. Cool, cool, cool. Green dots show overnight stays. Thanks for reading, again not a river cruise, but kayaks and canoes will be involved at some point.

Notamermaid, yes, these appear to be the 'runt of the litter'. The locks on the Douro are 85 meters long. Second thing, river cruise ships don't go that fast, especially upstream. The roads that follow the river are so curvy, filled with hairpin turns and narrow, that the Viking ship actually passed us in a twenty minute span. It had been behind us, both traveling upstream, and I figured I wouldn't get a picture...and then there it is again. If you want to drive this region and a passenger tends to get motion sickness, dramamine and maybe a different route. Here is the second ship we saw, the Douro Serenity. The lighting isn't doing her any favors, but not real attractive, IMHO. Vantage charters her, maybe others do as well. The Quinta we are now staying at is from 1722, and has its own chapel attached. Nice they've been able to save so many of these old buildings, and that you can stay in them. Beautiful wood and stonework throughout, we're told the dark altar wood is from Brazil. My knee, thanks for the sympathy, the braces help a lot, it's just the uneven steps that get me. My wife already sets a....slower....pace, so good there. 🥰 Just keep ole' girl off too many hills, caffeinated and with some bench breaks, and she can go forever. A herd of turtles does not go fast, but they do get there.

Thanks Canal Archive and JP. To bring it back to cruising, the Viking Hilgrim was chugging upstream this morning.

Happy belated Easter to all, from Ponte de Lima, Portugal. My February bike camino ended 2 weeks before it started with a knee issue. Luckily able to cancel without penalty. My spouse and my Easter trip is proceeding according to plan. Last year we came over, and stayed 3 nights at a Quinta de Agra, a vineyard you can stay at, from the 1600's, and in same family for 300 years. Beautiful gardens with fountains that run through the property and terraces. We were invited to attend the local priests home visit, where he blesses the household. Which turned into a long lesson on wine and good conversation. My wife and I decided then to return this year for Easter if we could. Entrance to the Quinta: Flowers everywhere: The Priests visit, fireplace is huge. This was at 1030, Monday. They split up the visits to two days as there are so many houses. We saw the procession a few kilometers down the road at 2030 in evening! I have no idea how he and entourage kept going, snacking at each house to be proper. Crossing the Lima, The General is calling out to his soldiers on the other side, by name. They thought that this was the river that caused you to lose all memory, and had refused to cross. His legion on the south banks: On the north side of the bridge, there was a statue for welcoming Pilgrims walking the camino. I was going to take a picture of my bike leaning against it for my kids (two who have been to Ponte De Lima with me previously), to show them dad was finally doing the Camino. Instead, I'm waiting for an MRI, wearing knee braces, and a dog is napping where my bike should be. The Bom Jesus gardens. And the view from our current resting spot along the Douro, Quinta De Agra. Great time, great weather (lots of rain last year), and super people. And my theory is holding true: drop a pin for where you are staying on GPS, pick a direction and go. We find some of the neatest stuff that way.

I had thought that is was just bike/barge sailings. The Swiss Crown is 110m, 135 passengers. This interests me as my wife would probably only want to be on a bike every other, or 2 out of 3 days. She'd be happy knitting her socks and watching the world go by, and wandering whatever small town they dock in. Having the larger ship, with more vantage points, would be great. Here is a great video about the Merlijn, one of the bike/barge options. A British lady doing the video loved the experience and the food. She hadn't been on a bike in years. Barge looks sweet. Not the Danube, but you get the idea.

Just purchased airfare for a late February Camino. I'm going solo, 9 days on E bicycle, Porto to Santiago da Compestela, following central route. Super slow pace so I can relax and take a rain day if needed. Following that, I'll have a car for 4 days to drive around Northern Galicia.

We recently spent two nights in Passau, and seeing all the different ships tied up, I got curious and did some google work. This may be interesting for someone with extra time before or after a Danube cruise: There is a two night cruise, Passau to Linz. You stay in a hotel in Vienna and Linz, then a 2 hour return train ride to Passau (included in 700E price for two people). You can also do a Passau to Vienna cruise where you either return to Passau that night, or stay in Vienna overnight and train back to Passau, or use the provided bike and peddle back to Passau. https://www.donauschifffahrt.eu/kurzurlaub-passau-linz-wien/ The second one is a 7 night bike/barge trip, you start in Passau, peddle to Vienna, then back via barge/ship. Depending on when you sail, it's either on a fancy looking barge (Merlijn, I've seen a video review, very nice), or larger ship like the Swiss Crown or Prinzessin Katharina. The daily distance peddled are 16-28 miles (longer routes available), E-bikes available. And you can always skip a day and just relax on board. Reasonably priced. https://www.tripsite.com/bike-boat/tours/along-the-danube-passau-to-vienna/ JAZZ- If either link not allowed, please just delete them, and not entire post.

I'd like to add that the Presidents club is a nice perk, after three sailings (we got the perks as our one cruise was Covid canceled). 20E laundry credit per person, cabin upgrade if available (it was, from aquarium to French Balcony), and free airfare deviation fee if you get included airfare , you just pay the fare difference. I'm sure other lines offer similar perks for repeat business, this was just a nice surprise as we weren't expecting it.

We sailed with them in November. Enjoyed the cruise. We've sailed with them 3 times, this was a similar experience. A lower tier line for amenities and food quality, at a lower cost (especially during specials. We're not foodies, and eat mostly in the second dining room, where the food is more basic, so not a big deal to us. Typical tours in port, just not a lot of choices. I go on bike rides frequently, they have quite a few on board. We like that the cost increase to go from aquarium class to french balcony is about half that of Viking, and the cabins are larger. Not as many cruises: they are down to one ship on the Danube/Rhine, and one on Douro. I believe they are starting on the Seine in 2024. Front office: you've read the front office stories. Not good. Our personal experience has been OK, and they were pretty fair with Covid cancellations and low water credits. If I had asked for my $ back, my story might be different. During low water issues, it was maddening to hear the office staff read the script stating our cruise was departing on time, on schedule. It was impossible unless it grew wheels. I hope they are able to rebound. They have longer cruises that we enjoy; 8 nights on upper Danube route, 14 nights on AMS-BAS sailing (more time on Mosel than most lines), the Portugal one has 3 nights in Madrid and 3 nights in Lisbon with 7 nights on the river. Good luck with whoever you sail with.

Here is a link showing the ferries that notamermaid references. You could spend time post cruise for a nice week long stay, for what some companies want for a 3 night extension. Just stretching the comfort zone a bit. The local tourism industry has made it easy and not that intimidating. http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/timetables/ferry-ferries.php

The Monarch Queen use to be Vantage's River Voyager. We sailed on her twice and really enjoyed it. Good to hear that you enjoyed yourselves.

No cruise scheduled for now, returning to Portugal for a 2 week trip in April.

Thanks for clarification. I found frequent stops on the Inn heading upstream from Passau, as stated, also upstream on Rhine from Koblenz, when I biked to Boppard, I think it was. (I remember what I had for lunch in both places though). Other places I've just done round trips.

100% agree on trains being easy and a great resource. And that the region is wonderful to travel through, boat/bike/train/rental car, whatever. What folks may not realize is that the regional train will stop at seemingly all the villages along the way. So you can head out on bikes or a hike, and if you're feeling energetic, go an extra 10 kms or so, and grab the train at a further station. You may stop for lunch, and find out about a place just a little further that sounds worth exploring. You have the flexibility to go check it out. On the Inn, heading upstream from Passau, the train was running every hour.

Here is the link I found for the Fluvius: https://www.boatbiketours.com/boat-bike-tours/belgium/best-of-holland-and-belgium/ The only tour I've found that is 100% on the Moselle/Saar: https://en.radreisen.at/germany/bike-and-boat/moselle-and-saar-by-bike-and-boat I am really wanting to do this. Looking back, I realize that some of my best memories of my 4 river cruises are when I took a ships bike and just went out and explored.

Quick answer: Yes, just let the CD on board know. Low water cruise 2019, we stayed in Basel for 5 nights, as boat was stuck in Koblenz. We bussed to the sites every day, with the drive getting longer each day. When they told us we were going to bus to Strasbourg, head back to Basel for the night, then bus to Koblenz the next day, stopping in Heidelburg enroute to ship, I started planning. I booked a cheap room in Strasbourg, and took the train to Koblenz. This allowed me to get some great night pictures in Strasbourg, and visit a museum in Koblenz that I wouldn't have had time for. The cruise bus was supposed to make it to the ship by 1700, due to Autobahn issues they didn't make it until 2100. In Koblenz I stumbled across a CD I had sailed with previously, and she pointed me towards the docking location. She told me she thought it was 'cool' that I had jumped ship. Both CD and spouse blessed off on plan, and I had an adventure. This is your cruise, enjoy it as you choose! (*My spouse may be atypical, 20 year's Army active duty. She understands ya gotta zig sometimes when everyone else zags. No plan survives initial contact with the enemy. Flexibility is key.)

Ganski- Thanks again. Bringing your own seat makes 100% sense. Middle daughter went to SUNY Brockport, she loved walking along the canal.

Great pictures, thanks. Did you guys just pack super light, or have a luggage shuttle? I'm just seeing one pannier and a small backpack on the one bike. Two fears on this type of trip for me would be the weather (which didn't favor you on your Bavarian trip), and the bike seat being uncomfortable. With a rental, it's roll of the dice. My motorcycle seats have my butt conditioned to luxury!

Ganski- Sounds like a very nice time. Guessing you rented bikes in Koblenz?

That factoid about the Soviet version of the astronomical clock is funny. I wonder if the Soviet craftsmanship will have the same lifespan as the Prague one. I'm sure the Orloj has had a lot of maintenance work done over the years, but still, 1410 is a long time ago... Sorry, edited this to say the Olomuoc clock was built roughly the same time period as Prague. The 'Socialist Realism' style was added in 1955. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olomouc_astronomical_clock